Method for establishing a communication link

ABSTRACT

A method for a user equipment (UE) to establish a communication link comprising the steps of receiving an input communication signal at an initial search frequency, processing the input communication signal to retrieve a primary scrambling code, the retrieval of the primary scrambling code being a code decision, and adjusting the search frequency of the UE in response to the code decision.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/918,611,filed on Jul. 31, 2001; which claims priority from ProvisionalApplication No. 60/271,642, filed on Feb. 27, 2001, all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to user equipment (UE)synchronization to a base station. More particularly the presentinvention relates to a cell search system which utilizes an improvedinitial cell search algorithm.

Initial cell search algorithms are used to synchronize the UE to a basestation. The UE accomplishes this procedure via a common downlinkchannel called the physical synchronization channel (PSCH). Referring toFIG. 2, the PSCH has a structure wherein the same primarysynchronization code (PSC) is transmitted at the beginning of each slot,while a secondary synchronization code (SSC) is transmitted for eachslot, resulting in fifteen (15) different SSCs. As those skilled in theart know, a frame that is fifteen (15) slots long can transmit fifteen(15) SSCs.

The transmit order of the SSC depends on the primary scrambling codegroup number. As an example, in a five hundred and twelve (512) cellsystem, there are sixty four (64) groups. In each group, the patterns ofthe SSC and its cyclic shifts are different. As a result, there are fivehundred and twelve (512) primary scrambling codes. Each cell, of a fivehundred and twelve cell (512) system, is assigned a code such that noone code is used by more than one cell in a given reception area.

Therefore the cell search synchronization systems determine the primaryscrambling code of a cell utilizing an initial cell search algorithm.Common initial cell search algorithms utilize three (3) majoralgorithms: a step 1 algorithm detects the PSC and determines a chipoffset; a step 2 algorithm uses the information given by step 1 anddetects the slot offset and code group number; and a step 3 algorithmutilizes the information provided by the step 2 algorithm and detectsthe primary scrambling code. Unfortunately, each step algorithm has aninherent error associated with it. The error present in each of thesteps is caused by the UE detection of noise associated with thereceived common downlink channel, which can result in a high number offalse detections.

Also, the common initial cell search algorithms can not handle arejection by the upper layers of the wrong public land mobile network(PLMN). Since most algorithms detect the strongest cell in the commondownlink channel, it is likely that each time the algorithm locates acell the same PLMN will be associated with the cell. This results in adeadlock and ultimately an indication to the UE that there is noservice.

Accordingly, there exists a need for a system and method that reducesthe number of false detections by the initial cell search algorithm andis able to overcome the deadlock associated with a rejection due to thewrong PLMN.

SUMMARY

A method for a user equipment (UE) to establish a communication linkcomprising the steps of receiving an input communication signal at aninitial search frequency, processing the input communication signal toretrieve a primary scrambling code, the retrieval of the primaryscrambling code being a code decision, and adjusting the searchfrequency of the UE in response to the code decision.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the initial cell search system made inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the physical synchronization channel(PSCH).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the step 1 module in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of the step 1 module in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the step 2 module in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graphical illustration of the Fast Hadamard Transform (FHT)structure.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the input matrix structure in accordancewith the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of the code group matrix structure inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the correlation matrix structure inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show a flow diagram of the step 2 algorithm inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the step 3 module in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the step 3 correlator in accordance withthe preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are a flow diagram of the step 3 algorithm inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 14A and 14B show a flow diagram of the controller cell searchdecision logic in accordance with the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 15A and 15B show a flow diagram of the controller window exclusionlogic in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The cell search synchronization system 10 in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1.The system 10 comprises a step 1 module 12, a step 2 module 14, a step 3module 16, and a controller 18 to accomplish synchronization between auser equipment (UE) and a base station. In order to accomplish thissynchronization, the UE, through the cell search synchronization system10, utilizes an initial cell search algorithm, to be disclosedhereinafter.

The step 1 algorithm of the initial cell search algorithm isaccomplished using the step 1 module 12. Referring to FIG. 3, the step 1module 12 comprises two Hierarchical Golay Correlators (HGC) 21, 22, twoabsolute value modifiers (AVM) 23, 24, a decision circuit 25, anormalizer circuit 26, a look up table 27, a multiplier 28, a splitter19, and a step 1 comparator 29. The root raised cosine filter (RRCFIR) 1shown is not a part of the step 1 module 12, but are illustrated thereinto provide a complete picture.

The purpose of the step 1 module 12 is to find the strongest path over aframe worth of samples the UE has detected and determine the chip offsetof the strongest path. The RRCFIR 1 coupled to the splitter 19 is apulse shaped filter that samples the downlink communication signal fromthe base station at twice the chip rate and forwards the sample signalto the splitter 19. The splitter 19 splits the sampled signal into itseven and odd samples and passes them to HGCs 21, 22.

The HGCs 21, 22 are coupled to the AVMs 23, 24, and the sample selector34 of the step 2 module 14 (illustrated in FIG. 5), to be disclosedhereinafter. HGCs 21, 22 correlate the PSC of the input signal. As thoseskilled in the art know, the HGCs 21, 22 output the complex values ofthe even and odd samples of the input signal, respectively. The HGC 21,22 outputs are forwarded to the AVMs 23, 24 and the sample selector 34.

The AVMs 23, 24, coupled to the HGCs 21, 22 and the decision circuit 25,determine the magnitudes of the HGCs 21, 22, equation to generate themagnitudes is determined according to the following equation:abs(x)˜max(|x _(real) |, |x _(imag)|)+0.5*min(|x _(real) |, |x_(imag)|)  Equation 1The use of the approximated absolute value in accordance with Equation 1reduces the hardware required in this implementation and causes nosignificant performance degradation. Once the approximated absolutevalues have been determined by the AVMs 23, 24, respectively, themodified even and odd samples are output to a decision circuit 25.

The decision circuit 25, coupled to the AVMs 23, 24 and the controller18, determine the chip offset. The modified even and odd samples outputfrom the AVMs 23, 24 are input into a MUX 8 within the decision circuit25, and combined into a single stream. This stream is a representationof the strength of the signal transmitted in one of the samples of eachslot of each frame. As illustrated in FIG. 2, there are two thousandfive hundred and sixty (2560) chips in each slot and fifteen (15) slotsin each frame. Since the input signal is sampled at twice the chip rate,there are 5120 samples in each slot. Therefore, the decision circuit 25determines the location of the PSC in the signal, chip offset, bysweeping through the 5120 accumulated samples at the end of each slot.

The stream generated by the MUX is forwarded to an accumulator (notshown) within the decision circuit 25. This accumulator has a fivethousand one hundred and twenty (5120) sample long register which storesthe accumulated sample value for each slot of every frame, and operateson the slot rate. The strength of the signal for each sample in a slotis added to the strength of the signal of each sample in everysubsequent slot. As an example, the samples of slot 1 comprise thefollowing signal strength values {1, 5, 3, 7}; the samples of slot 2comprise the following signal strength values {2, 4, 8, 3}. Initially,the registers of the accumulator have the values {0, 0, 0, 0}. As eachsample value from slot 1 is added to the registers of the accumulator,the register values change accordingly. For instance, when the firstsample value of slot 1 is added to the first register value, theaccumulator has the values {1, 0, 0, 0}; when the second sample value ofslot 1 is added to the second register value, the accumulator has thevalues {1, 5, 0, 0} and so on. Once the last sample value of slot 1 isadded to the accumulator, the first sample value of slot 2 is added tothe first register of the accumulator, resulting in the accumulatorhaving the values {3, 5, 3, 7}; when the second sample value of slot 2is added to the second register value, the accumulator has the values{3, 9, 3, 7}. The preferred embodiment of the present invention, flushesthe registers of the accumulator after five (5) frames have beenaccumulated, which is equivalent to seventy five (75) slots. The numberof accumulated frames is counted by a step 1 counter (not shown) withinthe decision circuit 25.

A decision, determination of the chip offset, by the decision circuit 25is generated at the end of each frame, fifteen (15) slots. The decisioncircuit 25 determines which register in the accumulator has the maximumaccumulated sample value MAX and assigns an index to it. The indexcorresponds to the half chip location of the PSC signal for the basestation with the strongest signal.

Chip offset assignment is determined using the HGC offset value of 511.As those skilled in the art know, the output of the HGC are delayed by256 chips. Therefore, when the decision circuit 25 assigns an index inthe peak sample, the HGC offset value must be subtracted. Since the PSCis 256 chips long, 512 samples long, subtracting the HGC offset from theindex equates to setting the chip offset to the beginning of the slot.If the index generated by the decision circuit 25 is greater than theHGC offset value of 511 then the chip offset is calculated in accordancewith Equation 2 below:chip_offset=INDEX−511  Equation 2If the index is less than the HGC offset value then the chip offset iscalculated in accordance with Equation 3 below:chip_offset=5120+INDEX−511  Equation 3

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the decision circuit 25 also comprises a maskgenerator 5, which is used to exclude a window around a rejected chipoffset from detection by the decision circuit 25. This mask generator 5,therefore, prohibits the decision circuit 25 from utilizing an indexassociated with a rejected chip offset. The details of the maskgenerator 5 will be disclosed hereinafter.

The calculated chip offset and the frame count step 1 counter are outputto a controller 18, to be disclosed hereinafter. The decision circuit 25also outputs the maximum accumulated chip value MAX and the accumulatedchip value OUTPUT for all registers.

The accumulated chip value OUTPUT for all registers is output to anormalizer circuit 26, where it is sampled at 20% the chip rate (one outof five), summed, and then normalized to 1024. The frame count step 1counter is output to the lookup table 27 to determine the proper gainfactor based on the number of frames accumulated. The output of thenormalizer circuit 26 and the lookup table 27 are then multiplied by themultiplier 28. The output of the multiplier 28 is considered the NoiseThreshold and is forwarded to a step 1 comparator circuit 29, to becompared to the maximum accumulated sample value MAX. If the maximumaccumulated sample value MAX is greater than the Noise Threshold, thedifferential amplifier 29 outputs a high step 1 firm signal to thecontroller, indicating a good decision for step 1, otherwise a lowsignal is output.

As stated earlier, the chip offset and other outputs are determined atthe end of every frame. Therefore, the reliability of the first decisionis less than that of the second because the second decision is made overthirty slots instead of fifteen slots. The reliability increases as thenumber of slots accumulated increases. The highest reliable output isgenerated at the M1th frame, M1 being an integer greater than or equalto one (1). The controller 18 resets the frame count step 1 counter andthe accumulator registers at the end of every M1th frame. Theperformance results under different channel impairment show thatfive-frame integration is good enough to detect PSC. However, thisintegration can be changed to more or less frames.

A flow diagram of the step 1 module is illustrated in FIG. 4. The UEdetects the receipt of communications over the common downlink channel(step 401) and samples the signal at twice the chip rate generating evenand odd samples (step 402). These even and odd samples are passed to thehierarchical Golay correlators (HGC) 21, 22 (step 403). The HGCs 21, 22then forwards the outputs to the AVMs 23, 24 and sample selector 34(step 404). The AVMs 23, 24 approximate the magnitudes of the even andodd outputs received from the HGCs 21, 22 (step 405) and forwards themto the decision circuit 25 (step 406). Upon receipt of the outputmagnitudes the decision circuit 25 combines the magnitudes (step 407),which represents the signal strength of the signal transmitted in one ofthe samples of each slot of each frame. The signal strength for eachsample is accumulated for all slots within each frame (step 408). Thedecision circuit 25 then determines which sample in the frame has themaximum accumulated sample value (step 409) and assigns an index to it(step 410). Based on the index, a chip value is assigned to the index(step 411), known as the chip offset, and output to the controller 18(step 412). A noise threshold value is then generated using theaccumulated chip value for all samples and the frame count (step 413)and then compared to the maximum accumulated sample value (step 414),indicating a firm or tentative decision to the controller 18 (step 415).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the outputs of the step 1 module 12, the chipoffset, step 1 firm, and step 1 counter, are forwarded to the controller18. The controller 18 forwards the chip offset to the step 2 module 14.As stated above, the step 2 module 14 utilizes a step 2 algorithm whichtakes the chip offset output from step 1 and the HGC 21, 22 outputs anddetects the slot offset and the code group number. The step 2 module 14illustrated in FIG. 5, comprises a step 2 comparator 30, a delay 32, asample selector 34, a conjugator 36, a complex multiplier 38, a FastHadamard Transform (FHT) 33, an envelope remover 31, an input matrixgenerator 35, an RS encoder 37, and a step 2 decision circuit 39.

The purpose of the step 2 algorithm is to provide the step 3 algorithmwith the scrambling code group number and the slot offset. The chipoffset from the step 1 module 12 is sent from the controller 18 to adelay 32 of the step 2 module 14. The chip offset is delayed for a framethrough the delay 32 in order to allow the step 1 module to make a firstdecision. The delayed chip offset is then forwarded to the sampleselector 34 which is coupled to the delay 32, a conjugator 36 and theHGCs 21, 22 of the step 1 module 12. Using the index determined by thedecision circuit 25, the sample selector 34 extracts the peak HGC 21, 22outputs from the input signal, which are then conjugated by theconjugator 36 and output to the complex multiplier 38.

The same communication signal to the step 1 module 12 is input to analignment circuit 15, which aligns the input signal so that step 2module 14 begins it search for the scrambling code group number and slotoffset at the beginning of the slot. Once the signal is aligned, thealignment circuit 15 forwards it to the step 2 module 14. Even thoughthere are two thousand five hundred and sixty (2,560) chips in eachslot, it should be apparent from FIG. 2 that the PSC is located withinthe first 256 chips of each slot. Since the chip offset has beendetermined by the step 1 module, the step 2 module determines the SSCusing the location of the strongest PSC in the first 256 chips in eachslot. As those skilled in the art know, when SSC codes are generated, anenvelope sequence is applied to the rows of an Hadamard matrix in orderto have some orthogonality between PSC and SSC codes. This envelope hasto be removed before proceeding into the remaining portion of the step 2algorithm. This envelope removal is accomplished by the envelope remover31.

Once the envelope has been removed from the input signal, the signal isoutput from the envelope remover 31 to the FHT transform 33 coupled tothe envelope remove 31 and multiplier 38, which reduces the complexityof the pure Hadamard correlation operation. FIG. 6 is an illustration ofthe FHT structure. The output of the FHT transform 33 is multiplied bythe conjugate of the peak HGC 21, 22 by the complex multiplier 38coupled to the conjugator 36 and the FHT transform 33. The use of theconjugate of the peak output from the HGCs 21, 22 provides a phasecorrection to the FHT output and transforms the one entry thatcorresponds to the transmitted SSC code onto the real axis.

Once the FHT transform 33 output has been multiplied in the complexmultiplier 38, the real part of the FHT outputs are forwarded to theinput matrix generator 35 by the multiplier 38, which puts the FHToutputs into a real matrix of 15×16, called the input matrix. In theinput matrix, there are fifteen (15) slots and in each slot sixteen (16)elements for a frame. The input matrix is updated per frame. The inputmatrix is then forwarded to the decision circuit 39 where adetermination of the slot offset and code group number are made. Thestructure of the input matrix is illustrated in FIG. 7.

A correlation matrix is generated within the step 2 decision circuit 39using the input matrix 35 and a known code group matrix, which resultsin a 64×15 matrix. The correlation matrix is reset when the framecounter for the step 2 module reaches M2, similar to that disclosed inthe step 1 module. In order to generate the correlation matrix, thedecision circuit 39 steps through each of the elements of the code groupmatrix and the elements of the input matrix 35 in accordance with theequation 4 below:corrMatrix[i][j]+=inputMatrix[k][code_group_matrix[i][k]]  Equation 4where j is an integer incremented from 0 to 14 by 1, that representscyclic shifts performed on the identity matrix with respect to columns;i is an integer incremented from 0 to 63 by 1; and k is an integerincremented from 0 to 14 by 1. The structure of the code group matrixand the resulting correlation matrix are illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9respectively. Once the correlation matrix has been generated, themaximum entry is found by the decision circuit 39. The corresponding rowof the found maximum entry is the code group number and the column isthe slot offset.

Similar to the step 1 module 12, if the max correlation MAX 2 is greaterthan the threshold, the comparator circuit 30 will output a high step 2firm signal to the controller 18 indicating a firm decision, otherwise alow signal is output indicating a tentative decision. The thresholdvalue is calculated using the mean magnitude value of the correlationmatrix: $\begin{matrix}{{{Th} = {k\quad\frac{1}{960}\left( {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{63}{\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{14}{{mag}\quad\left( c_{ij} \right)}}} \right)}}{{k = 5.12},{P_{fa} = 10^{- 4}}}} & {{Equation}\quad 5}\end{matrix}$where P_(FA) is the probability of false alarm. The step 2 module 14outputs to the controller 18 the code group number, slot offset, step 2firm, and step 2 counter.

The flow diagram for the step 2 algorithm is illustrated in FIG. 10. Thestep 2 module receives the communication signal from the base stationover the downlink channel (step 1001). An envelope sequence is removedfrom the communication signal (step 1002 a) and output to an FHTtransform 33, (step 1003 a). At the same time, the chip offset from thestep 1 module 12 is input to a delay 32 in the step 2 module 14 (step1002 b) and forwarded to a sample selector 34, which extracts the peakeven or odd output generated by the HGCs 21, 22 of the step 1 module 12based on the chip offset (step 1003 b). The output of the FHTtransformer 33 is then multiplied by the conjugate of the peak even orodd sample output from the sample selector 34 (step 1004) and transformsone entry of the FHT output that corresponds to the SSC code onto thereal axis (step 1005). The real part of the FHT outputs for each slot ina frame are forwarded to the input matrix generator 35 (step 1006). Theinput matrix generator 35 then creates the input matrix (step 1007). Theinput matrix is then forwarded to the decision circuit 39 to determinethe slot offset and code group number (step 1008). Utilizing the inputmatrix and known code group matrix, the decision circuit 39 generates acorrelation matrix (step 1009). Once the correlation matrix has beengenerated, the decision circuit 39 locates the maximum entry in thecorrelation matrix (step 1010), for which the corresponding row of thefound maximum entry is determined to be the code group number and thecolumn is the slot offset. The code group number and the slot offset arethen forwarded to the controller 18 (step 1011). A threshold value isthen calculated using the mean magnitude value of the correlation matrix(step 1012) and compared to the max correlation (step 1013), forwardingan indication of a firm or tentative decision to the controller 18 (step1014).

The chip offset output from the step 1 module 12 and the slot offset andcode group number output from the step 2 module, are forwarded by thecontroller 18 to the step 3 module 16, which utilizes a step 3 algorithmfor the purpose of determining which one of the primary scrambling codesis coming with the least probability of false alarm (P_(FA)) when thecode group number is given. There are eight primary scrambling codes ineach code group.

The block diagram of the step 3 module 16 is illustrated in FIG. 11.Similar to the step 2 module 14, the communication signal is input to asecond alignment circuit 18 which aligns the output signal so that thestep 3 module 16 begins its search for the scrambling code number at thebeginning of the frame. Once the input signal has been aligned, thealignment circuit 18 forwards the input signal to the step 3 module 16.The step 3 module comprises eight (8) scrambling code generators 40 ₁ .. . 40 ₈, eight (8) correlator circuits 41 ₁ . . . 41 ₈, a noiseestimator circuit 42, a step 3 decision circuit 44, a decision supportcircuit 45, a gain circuit 46, and a comparator circuit 47. The codegroup number generated by the step 2 module 14 is input to the eight (8)scrambling code generators 40 ₁ . . . 40 ₈ and scrambling codes aregenerated therefrom. The output of the scrambling code generators 40 ₁ .. . 40 ₈ is forwarded to the scrambling code correlators 41 ₁ . . . 41₈, respectively.

Along with the scrambling codes output from the scrambling codegenerators 40 ₁ . . . 40 ₈, the communication signal, after processingby a realignment circuit 15 using the chip offset and slot offset outputfrom the controller 18, is input to the correlators 41 ₁ . . . 41 ₈. Thecorrelators 41 ₁ . . . 41 ₈ utilize non-coherent integration over acertain number of slots. Integration can be over multiple frames. Thecorrelation is made coherently for each symbol that corresponds to the256-chip data. The absolute value of the correlation results areaccumulated over 10*N symbols per frame, where N is the number of slotsto be accumulated from the beginning of a frame. In a single slot thereare ten 256-chip long data parts; therefore, ten 256-chip coherentcorrelation and ten accumulations are made per slot. FIG. 12 shows thedetails of a correlator 41 ₁.

After the correlators 41 ₁ . . . 41 ₈ generate the outputs, the maximumoutput and its index have to be found. The step 3 decision circuit 44takes the outputs of the scrambled code correlators 41 ₁ . . . 41 ₈,determines the correlator 41 ₁ . . . 41 ₈ with the maximum output, andgenerates an index thereof. The index is the scrambling code number. Thescrambling code number is then forwarded to the decision support circuit45 and the controller 18. The decision support circuit 45 observes thelast M3 decisions made by the decision circuit 44. If a code repeatsitself more than k repetitions out of M3 inputs, then the code that hasbeen repeated is the scrambling code number that is output from thedecision support circuit 45 to the controller 18. However, the output ofthe decision support circuit 45 is only utilized when there is no firmdecision over the consecutive M3 frames. Even though the decisionsupport circuit is only illustrated in the step 3 module 16, a decisionsupport circuit 45 as disclosed in the step 3 module 16 can be utilizedfor both the step 1 and step 2 modules 12, 14 disclosed herein above.

A firm decision is indicated when the determined maximum correlationvalue is greater than the calculated threshold value. The thresholdvalue is calculated using the noise estimator circuit 42, which is usedfor noise measurement, and a gain factor. The noise is determined bytaking the magnitude of the difference between the successive commonpilot symbols. This method of noise estimation eliminates any bias inthe noise estimate due to orthogonal signal interference. The result ofthe noise estimator 42 is multiplied by the gain factor in themultiplier 46, which is determined to be the threshold. When thedetermined maximum correlation is greater than the calculated threshold,the comparator 47 outputs a high step 3 firm signal indicating a firmdecision, otherwise a low signal is generated indicating a tentativedecision.

The flow diagram of the step 3 algorithm is illustrated in FIG. 13. Thecode group number output from the step 2 module 14 is input to the step3 module 16 scrambling code generators 40 ₁ . . . 40 ₈ (step 1301),which then generate scrambling codes therefrom (step 1302). The outputof the scrambling code generators is then forwarded to the scramblingcode correlators 41 ₁ . . . 41 ₈ (step 1303). Along with the scramblingcodes output from the scrambling code generators 40 ₁ . . . 40 ₈, thecommunication signal is correlated in the scrambling code correlators 41₁ . . . 41 ₈ (step 1304), which then generate ten 256 chip coherentcorrelations and ten non-coherent accumulations per time slot (step1305). The accumulated results are forwarded to the step 3 decisioncircuit 44 (step 1306). The decision circuit 44 determines thecorrelator with the maximum output and generates an index thereof, whichis the scrambling code number (step 1307). A threshold value is thencalculated (step 1308) and compared to the maximum correlation value(step 1309). If the maximum correlation value is greater than thecalculated threshold, the step 3 module 16 outputs a high step 3 firmsignal (step 1310), which results in the decision circuit 44 outputtingthe scrambling code number to the controller 18 (step 1311). Otherwise,a low signal is output to the controller 18 (step 1312) and thescrambling code number is output to the decision support circuit 45(step 1313). Since the decision support circuit 45 observes the last M3decisions made by the decision circuit 44, a scrambling code number isoutput to the controller 18 when a scrambling code repeats itself ktimes out of M3 inputs (step 1311).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the controller 18 comprises a rejected chipoffset buffer 9, a rejected chip offset counter 11, a rejected primaryscrambling code vector buffer 13, a rejected primary scrambling codecounter 3, a decision logic circuit 2 and a window exclusion logiccircuit 6. The controller 18 is used to make better decisions during theentire cell search algorithm in accordance with the preferred embodimentof the present invention.

The flow diagram of the decision logic used by the controller 18 todetermine the primary scrambling code for synchronization with thetransmitting base station is illustrated in FIG. 14. The controller 18receives the chip offset, the step 1 firm signal and the step 1 countersignal from the step 1 module 12 (step 1401). If the step 1 firm signalis high, the controller 18 forwards the firm chip offset to the step 2module 14 (step 1402 a), otherwise a tentative chip offset is forwarded(step 1402 b). The step 2 module 14 generates the code group number,slot offset value, step 2 firm, and step 2 counter (step 1403). If thestep 2 firm signal is high, the controller forwards the firm code groupto the step 3 module (step 1404 a). Otherwise, the controller 18forwards a tentative code group to the step 3 module 16 (step 1404 b)and if the step 2 counter is less than M2, the step 2 module 14continues to generate the code group number (step 1403). If the step 2counter is equal to M2, then the step 2 module 14 is reset (step 1407),which results in the step 2 module generating a code number and slotoffset (step 1403). The step 3 module 16 then generates a scramblingcode number and step 3 firm signal (step 1405) generated in step 1403,receiving the slot offset and code group number. If the step 3 firmsignal is high, then the decision logic circuit 2 determines that thescrambling code number is firm and ends the decision logic process. Ifthe step 3 firm signal is low and the step 1 firm signal is high or thestep 2 counter is less than M2, the step 2 module continues to generatea code group number (step 1403). Otherwise, the step 2 module receives areset signal from controller 18 and resets the step 2 counter to 0 (step1407). This procedure continues until the decision output by the step 3module 16 is firm.

Due to a possible initial frequency error in the VCO, excess loss ofsignal correlation may occur. Therefore, the VCO is frequency stepped inorder to control the maximum possible frequency error between the UE andthe cell. Upon initialization of the UE, the controller 18 initializesthe cell search frequency using the frequency synthesizer 20. Referringto FIG. 1, the frequency synthesizer 20 comprises an adaptive frequencycircuit (AFC) 4 and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 7 ornumerically controlled oscillator (NCO). The AFC 4, coupled to thecontroller 18 and the VCO 7, comprises a frequency allocation table(FAT) and a frequency step table (FST).

When the controller 18 is initialized, the AFC 4 sets the frequencyusing the first frequency in the FAT and the offset value from the FST.This initial frequency is the frequency used by the controller 18 toconduct the cell search. The FST is a table of step frequencies, oroffset frequencies, for example {0, 2, −2, 4, −4, 6, −6 . . . N, −N}which are used to offset the frequency in use by the controller 18. TheFAT includes a plurality of predetermined frequencies for which thecontroller 18, or a level 1 controller (not shown) utilize to locate andsynchronize the UE to the base station. For purposes of this disclosure,the plurality of frequencies listed are defined as F₀, F₁, F₂ . . .F_(N) in the FAT and the offset frequencies in the FST are defined asSF₀, SF₁, −SF₁, SF₂ −SF₂ . . . SF_(N), −SF_(N). Accordingly, when thecontroller is initialized, the offset frequency is SFO and the frequency>F₀. The AFC 4 combines the two values F₀+SF₀, and forwards theresulting frequency value to the VCO or NCO 7, which maintains the UEfrequency at this forwarded frequency.

The controller 18 performs the decision logic disclosed above. If afterX number of frames the output step 3 firm does not go high, thecontroller signals the AFC 4 to step 2 the next offset in the FST, forexample, SF₁. The AFC 4 then combines the new offset frequency with thefrequency of the FAT, F₀+SF₁, and outputs the resulting frequency to theVCO or NCO 7 to maintain the UE at this frequency.

The controller 18 continues to step through the offset frequencies inthe FST until a high signal is detected from the step 3 module 16,indicating a firm detection or until all offset frequencies have beentried by the controller 18. Once all of the offset frequencies have beentried, the AFC 4 resets the FST offset frequency to SF₀, steps to thenext frequency in the FAT, F₁ and combines the two values, F₁+SF₀, foroutput to the VCO or NCO 7. The VCO or NCO 7 then regulates the UEfrequency to this new resulting frequency and the controller 18 thenperforms the decision logic until a high signal is detected from thestep 3 module 16. This process of stepping through the FST and thenstepping to the next FAT frequency is continued until a high signal isoutput by the step 3 module 16. Once this event occurs the detection ofa scrambling code, the AFC 4 locks the FST offset value at its currentposition, not to be readjusted until the controller 18 is initialized.

As those skilled in the art know, most service providers in acommunication system have a different public land mobile network (PLMN).The UE utilizes the detected PLMN to determine whether or not theservice provider provides service in the UE's location. The controller18 utilizes a window exclusion logic within the window exclusion logiccircuit 6 for overcoming a rejection due to the wrong PLMN. Sincedetecting the HGC 21, 22 output at peak value always gives the samePLMN, the controller 18 utilizes the window exclusion logic to overcomethis deadlock. The window exclusion logic circuit is coupled to thedecision logic circuit 2, rejected chip offset vector buffer 9, arejected chip offset counter 11, a rejected primary scrambling codevector buffer 13, and a rejected primary scrambling code counter 3. Thewindow exclusion logic circuit 6 checks the primary scrambling codeoutput from the step 3 module against the rejected primary scramblingcodes stored in the rejected primary scrambling code vector buffer 13.If the primary scrambling code output from the step 3 module is found inthe buffer 13, or the wrong PLMN is detected, the window exclusion logiccircuit 6 rejects the code and initializes the decision logic circuitagain. Each time a primary scrambling code is rejected, the chip offsetthat was generated by the step 1 module is stored in the rejected chipoffset vector buffer 9 and used by the mask generator 5. The maskgenerator 5 of the decision circuit 25 within the step 1 module 12 usesthe values stored in the rejected chip offset vector buffer 9 andrejected chip offset counter 11 from the controller 18 to determinewhich chips in each slot to exclude in the window. The exclusion of thedetected primary scrambling codes and chip offsets are made only withina single frequency band. The buffers and counters are reset when thereis an acknowledgment by the base station or new frequency band is usedby the level 1 controller.

In order to adjust the frequency band used by the controller 18 duringthe window exclusion logic process, the layer 1 controller signals theAFC 4 to step to the next frequency in the FAT. Since the offsetfrequency of the FST is set, the AFC combines the new frequency with theset offset frequency. The VCO or NCO 7 is then adjusted to maintain thiscombined frequency.

A flow diagram of the window exclusion logic utilized by the controlleris illustrated in FIG. 15. The controller 18 runs the cell searchdecision logic and finds a primary scrambling code (step 1501). Theprimary scrambling code is passed to the upper layers (step 1502) whichstore the frequency and the primary scrambling code index (step 1503).If the PLMN is correct for the particular service provider, the UE issynchronized to the base station, and the process is terminated (step1504). If the PLMN is incorrect and there is a frequency remaining inthe FAT of the AGC 4, the AGC 4 steps to the next frequency in the FATand the controller 18 changes the frequency, stores the primaryscrambling code in the vector buffer 13, and resets the cell searchalgorithm (step 1505). It should be noted that the failure conditionmonitors either the counter buffers 3, 11, or a timer to determinewhether a failed condition occurs. A failed condition indicates thatsynchronization will not occur under the current conditions (e.g.frequency). If there is no frequency left within the FAT, the controller18 begins to the sweep the frequencies with the stored primaryscrambling code (step 1506). The controller 18 then sets the firstfrequency and passes the rejected primary scrambling code to the initialcell search with window exclusion method (step 1507). The controller 18resets the initial cell search with window exclusion method and alsoresets the failure condition (step 1508). The rejected primaryscrambling code is pushed into the rejected primary scrambling codevector buffer 13 and the rejected primary scrambling code counter isincremented (step 1509). The cell search decision logic is run and aprimary scrambling code and chip offset are found (step 1510). If theprimary scrambling code is stored in the rejected primary scramblingcode vector buffer 13, then the chip offset is pushed into the rejectedchip offset vector buffer 9 and the rejected chip offset counter 11 isincremented (step 1511). The cell search decision logic is again runexcluding a window around the rejected chip offset (step 1512). If theprimary scrambling code generated by this cell search decision logic isagain stored in the rejected primary scrambling code vector buffer, thenthe detected chip offset is pushed onto the rejected chip offset vectorbuffer and the rejected chip offset counter is incremented (step 1511)and the cell search decision logic excluding a window of value rejectedchip offset is run again (step 1512). Steps 1511 and 1512 continue untilthe detected primary code is not in the list at which point the primaryscrambling code is forwarded to the upper layers to await anacknowledgment by the base station (step 1513). If there is a failurecondition and there is no frequency left, the controller 18 indicatesthat no service is available (step 1517) and the process is terminated.If there was a failure and there was a frequency remaining in thebandwidth, the controller 18 sets a new frequency and passes therejected primary scrambling code for that frequency (step 1516). Thecontroller 18 then resets the initial cell search with window excludingmethod and the failure condition monitor (step 1508). The controller 18then continues the initial cell search with window exclusion method asdisclosed above. If there is no failed condition and the PLMN iscorrect, the controller 18 indicates that the UE is synchronized to thebase station upon receipt of the acknowledgment (step 1518), and theprocess is terminated. If the PLMN is incorrect, the rejected primaryscrambling code is pushed into the rejected primary scrambling codevector buffer 13 and the rejected primary scrambling code counter 3 isincremented (step 1515). The cell search decision logic is run againexcluding a window around the previously rejected chip offset value(step 1512). This procedure continues until the controller indicatesthat no service is available or an acknowledgment from a base station isreceived.

1. A method for a user equipment (UE) to establish a communication linkcomprising the steps of: receiving an input communication signal at aninitial search frequency; processing said input communication signal toretrieve a primary scrambling code, said retrieval of said primaryscrambling code being a code decision; and adjusting the searchfrequency of said UE in response to said code decision.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said processing step includes: first processing saidcommunication signal and generating an index value associated with aprimary synchronization code within said communication signal;extracting a peak sample from said communication signal in response tosaid index value; second processing said communication signal inresponse to said index value and said peak sample and retrieving a codegroup number, slot offset, and secondary synchronization code; and thirdprocessing said communication signal and retrieving the primaryscrambling code in response to said code group number and said slotoffset.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said adjustment of said searchfrequency comprises the steps of: extracting one of a plurality ofoffset frequencies and one of a plurality of search frequencies;combining said one of said plurality of offset frequencies with said oneof said plurality of base frequencies for generating said searchfrequency; maintaining said search frequency; and setting said offsetfrequency in response to said code decision.
 4. The method of claim 2wherein said plurality of offset frequencies and said plurality of basefrequencies are stored in a frequency step table and a frequencyallocation table, respectively.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said UEprogresses through said frequency step table for each of said basefrequencies in said frequency allocation table until said code decisionis firm; said firm code decision being when a retrieved primaryscrambling code is greater than a threshold value or said thirdprocessing step retrieves the same primary scrambling code apredetermined number of times.
 6. The method of claim 2 furthercomprising the steps of: storing said index value and said primaryscrambling code in an index buffer and code buffer, respectively;comparing said primary scrambling code with a primary scrambling codestored in said code with a primary scrambling code stored in said codebuffer and said index with an index stored in said index buffer;rejecting said primary scrambling code and said index when said primaryscrambling code if said primary scrambling found in said code buffer;and reprocessing said communication signal excluding a predeterminedwindow around any index in said index buffer.
 7. The method of claim 6further comprising the step of adjusting said search frequency of saidUE when no primary scrambling code is retrieved.